The Ottawa dental care program will finally be available at the Sainte-Anne-des-Monts community clinic.
This Annemont dental clinic was not eligible for the federal government’s dental care program, since it is administered by the Integrated Health and Social Services Center (CISSS) of Gaspésie.
The situation was denounced in the region, but now Quebec is changing its tune and authorizing use of the federal dental care program in its public establishments.
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The community dental clinic of Sainte-Anne-Des-Monts
Photo : Radio-Canada / Jean-Francois Deschenes
For Health Minister Christian Dubé, the Ottawa program concerns provincial jurisdiction and Mr. Dubé wants to negotiate the terms of this program with the federal government.
During this time, the government will offer dental services to all those who are eligible, assured Minister Dubé in a press scrum last Thursday.
This is good news and a relief for the resident of Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Diane Sabourin, who had already deplored this lack of accessibility.
I am fighting for myself and my partner, but above all I am thinking of all the seniors in Haute-Gaspésie, which is the poorest MRC in Quebec. If there is a place where we should have the right to this dental care, with minimal costs, it is here, argues Ms. Sabourin.
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Diane Sabourin said she was surprised by this about-face made by Quebec.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Jean-François Deschênes
The CISSS de la Gaspésie indicates that there are still a few details to be resolved before announcing when the service will be offered, but nevertheless confirms that it will be imminent.
It’s excellent news, that’s obvious,” says the mayor of Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Simon Deschênes.
By not qualifying [au programme fédéral]it represented a significant cost for our citizens, so we were already seeing people desert the community clinic again to go outside, to a private clinic, to be able to benefit from Canadian dental insurance, which is worth it after verification, continues Mr. Deschênes.
The return of this famous insurance means that our community clinic services will be able to meet the population’s demand. […] This is a gain for our citizens!
A quote from Simon Deschênes, mayor of Sainte-Anne-des-Monts
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Simon Deschênes is the mayor of Sainte-Anne-des-Monts. (Archive photo)
Photo : Radio-Canada / Benoit Roussel
New banner in Matane
Accessibility to dental care is also improving for the community in Matane. The Doctor Jean-Pierre Bouffard dental clinic changes hands.
At the dawn of his retirement, Doctor Bouffard was preparing to close his clinic in the spring of 2023 due to lack of replacements, which ultimately did not happen.
A company from the Lévis region, Les Cliniques Boca, officially acquired the Matanese dental clinic on October 1.
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The Dr. Jean-Pierre Bouffard dental clinic in Matane
Photo : Radio-Canada / Jean-Francois Deschenes
The main objective of the new buyers is to facilitate the takeover of dental clinics in the region and thus, facilitate access to dental care at a reasonable distance from patients’ homes.
We are seeing it more and more at the moment, begins Dr. Jason Battah, dentist-owner of the Cliniques Boca group, whose practice is based in Lévis.
I have patients who come from as far as Sainte-Anne-Des-Monts, Chandler, Carleton-sur-Mer. I even have colleagues in Beauce, then even on the north shore of Quebec who are experiencing the same thing, he explains.
The buyers also consolidate the presence of dentists at the clinic. Four young dentists will take turns providing the service, summarizes Dr Battah.
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Doctor Jason Battah, dentist-owner of the Boca Clinics group
Photo: Battah Implantology Clinic
The goal is to achieve the equivalent replacement of a dentist. What we have implemented as a strategy in Matane is four dentists who go there for one week per month, which is equivalent to replacing one dentist, explains the dentist-owner.
By having a rotating presence like that, we are able to ensure at least maintenance of services.
A quote from Jason Battah, dentist-owner of the Boca Clinics group
This strategy of part-time presence in the region makes it easier for them to recruit staff, according to Dr. Battah.
The recruitment model for a dentist who is leaving university and who is going to settle down [en région] full-time, it’s no longer very popular and over the past ten or fifteen years, we’ve seen that it doesn’t really work anymore. […] We have to find a way to coax them and let them know the benefits of the region, without necessarily having their entire daily life happen there all at once, he maintains.
Optimization of the dental clinic
Major renovation work, estimated at one million dollars, is also planned for the beginning of November.
Examination rooms will be reconfigured, going from three to six rooms, which will double the patient capacity.
We are going to reduce wasted space and [optimiser] the square feet of the surface area of the building, […] Even if we had found professionals to optimize the service offering, with three rooms, we lacked space. It was the right thing to do to be more efficient and to be able to increase the patient capacity, explains Mr. Battah.
Boca dental clinics already have an expansion project in the works.
In the medium term, the dentist-owner is targeting between eight and twelve Boca dental service points in Gaspésie and Bas-Saint-Laurent. Some dentists already offer their services in clinics in Mont-Joli and Amqui.
There are already clinics that fit the profile of future acquisitions in a schedule according to, say, the retirement schedule of senior dentists, he specifies.
The company is already established in Lévis and Saint-Nicolas, also on the south shore of Quebec.
